Prior to Ametros, Marques worked as an investor and consultant within the insurance and business services sector. Marques was previously an Associate with Clarion Capital Partners (a private equity firm), and an investment banker with Lazard Freres. He has been instrumental in working with multiple privately held organizations within the claims management solutions and managed care industries. Marques obtained his B.A. in Economics from Columbia University and his MBA from Harvard Business School. He is currently on the Board of Directors of Ametros and is also a member of the Board of Trustees for Merrimack College, as well as, University School, a private K-12 school in Cleveland. Marques currently resides in Boston with his wife Alexandra and two daughters, Emery and Grace.
How do changes in the organization of work (alternative work arrangements, platform/gig work) impact the responsibility of the company and/or the worker for both occupational safety and recovery following a work injury?
Primarily when you think about the gig economy, things are changing rapidly and there is a lot of money that is being invested into the opportunities that are sprouting up. There are great things about alternative work arrangements and what it means in terms of opportunities and flexibility for people to work and driving remarkable innovation. From my perspective, that dynamic will lead to gig related companies moving fast and unfortunately innovating ahead and outside of the current workers’ compensation regulations and norms. Companies like Uber, Lyft, Postmates, Grubhub, etc. are employing a significant number of people that use those platforms to earn a living and to ultimately “work.” At the end of the day, I do believe there is some responsibility that these companies have to take with regards to occupational safety and I think they are trying but maybe not to the extent that people within occupational safety circles think they should be. The final form of what it will mean for gig related companies to develop, appropriate workplace safety programs, and ways to handle occupational injuries and disputes will be fluid and will take some time to figure out as they have essentially created new ways to work that were not contemplated when the Grand Bargain was created.
The risk is that over the past 10 years, these companies have moved at lightning speed while the workers’ compensation laws and regulations still generally operate off of laws established in the early 1900s. I believe companies operating in alternative work arrangements have an advantage in terms of resources and are innovating quicker than any laws are able to change or adapt. This dynamic will most likely cause massive confusion among the new workforce and other stakeholders. It may result in a non-intentional shift in coverage to other payers and parties, and I think that may continue to happen at an accelerated pace as they become bigger and more influential in our society.
Eventually, I do believe it will become a big enough problem where legislation will catch up, but workers’ compensation must be proactive and collaborative with those industries in order to make meaningful strides against a heavily funded and quickly moving industry. The companies have a responsibility, but the system also has a responsibility to engage and work proactively to find solutions.
“Marques is determined to make healthcare as effective and affordable as possible for injured workers. His approach is changing the status quo of what happens to an injured worker once a claim is settled. He is a gifted leader and the workers’ compensation community is a better place because he saw a problem, crafted a solution, expanded on that solution and decided to implement it.”
- Paul Sighinolfi, Ametros
Read the full article originally in IAIABC Perspectives Magazine!
